Wikijunior:Susan B. Anthony/Simple passage
| Learn these key words to understand the text. | |
|---|---|
| activist | A citizen who promotes an ideology |
| prominent | Large or influential |
| suffrage | The right to vote |
| ratification | Ratifying, meaning to make official |
| amendment | A change to the Bill of Rights, a document listing rights of American citizens |
| abolitionist | An activist who believes in getting rid of something, typically slavery |
| denomination | Branch |
| textile | A type of cloth |
Susan B. Anthony was a women's rights activist in the United States. She was a prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement, and was influential in the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women equal voting rights. Susan B. Anthony was also an abolitionist, meaning she believed that slavery should be banned.
Early life
[edit | edit source]Susan B. Anthony was born Susan Anthony in Adams, Massachusetts, on 15 February 1820. She belonged to a family of Quakers, a Christian denomination that believes in peace and equal rights. Her father, Daniel Anthony, was a textile factory owner. Her mother was named Lucy Anthony. Her father was also an abolitionist.
In their childhood, Susan and her sisters added middle initials to their names, as was popular at the time. This is when Susan added the b to her name.
Activism
[edit | edit source]When she was 17, Susan began collecting anti-slavery petitions. She soon began to advocate for women's rights, and in 1851 was introduced to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a fellow women's rights activist. She and Elizabeth Cady Stanton began working as partners, and even founded the Women's Loyal National League during the Civil War to campaign for an amendment that would ban slavery across the nation.